Zero
by CherieGrey
Summary: It all started out simple. Just a girl with her happy go lucky personality, twinkling hazel eyes, dancing the night away; and the boy with cold, unnerving eyes, hiding behind his carefully built façade. They were worlds apart.
1. Hotaru, what are you doing here?

_**A/N: So, after lurking around in Fanfiction FOREVER, I have decided to write my first Fanfic, ever! *FIREWORKS!* be nice, mmkay? Constructive criticism is expected, and valued!**_

_**Still trying to figure out where this will end up, but so far it's a make-it-up-as-we-go-along fic. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: Do not own Gakuen Alice, but one can dream.**_

o-o-o-o

_It all started out simple._

_Just a girl with her happy go lucky personality, twinkling hazel eyes, dancing the night away; and the boy with cold, unnerving eyes, hiding behind his carefully built façade._

_They were worlds apart._

o-o-o-o

"Hotaru, where have you been?" Mikan reached out to take Hotaru's wrist in her hand. "I was worried."

"Taking a walk," Hotaru answered, keeping her face void of any emotion. "I'm tired, see you tomorrow." With that, she pulled away from Mikan and headed off to her room.

Mikan furrowed her eyebrows as Hotaru vanished around a corner. She twirled a piece of her chestnut hair around her finger.

_Hotaru had been acting weird lately. She never showed up at the cafeteria for dinner anymore, she always makes half-hearted excuses for her disappearances, and she was late for classes more often than not._ Mikan yawned. It was evening, and the skies were dyed a navy blue, fading into black. She climbed into bed, leaving her window open to let in cool air on this hot, suffocating summer night, and drifted off to sleep.

_Mikan opened her eyelids drowsily, her hazel eyes stared into hypnotizing sapphire ones. She let out a muffled shriek and backed up into the headboards. Upon getting a closer look at the intruder, she visibly relaxed._

"_Hotaru," Mikan breathed, shaken. "What are you doing here?"_

_Before her was a girl with short black hair, reaching just past her chin. She was looking down; her bangs fell in her eyes, preventing Mikan from getting a good view of her face. _

"_Hotaru," Mikan called again. "Hotaru!" She grasped her best friend's shoulders and shook. Hotaru pitched forward, landing in Mikan's lap face-down. Mikan brought her hands up to her eyes. They were stained a dark color, unidentifiable under the limited moonlight. Her insides did a somersault. She turned her friend over, eyes widening._

_Hotaru's usual warm amethyst eyes were gone, replaced by a shade of glassy, watered-down purple. Her mouth hung open slightly, and there was a brand on her shoulder, scorched on by burning metal. _

_It read: Zero._

Mikan sat up in her bed with a start. Her breaths came in small gasps. She reached out for the digital alarm clock on her bed stand instinctively. It read _3:25_. It was still early in the morning, and the sun shone dimly below the horizons, waiting for the perfect moment to rise up into the sky.

She threw on a pair of shorts and tank top, and ran a brush through her frizzy hair in an attempt to tame it. She gave up quickly. No way was she going to waste a nice, cool morning going through a million beauty routines. _Might as well take the time to explore campus, _she thought.She pulled on a pair of sandals, and slipped out the window, onto the branches of a grand cherry blossom tree by her window. As of early August, the tree was adorned with thick, green leaves, making it a perfect spot for an afternoon nap—or, an early morning escapade.

Mikan hopped down from a lower branch cautiously. Following a cobblestone path, she arrived at Alice Academy's very own town square.

_Yes, town square, an open, public place for community gatherings_._ The Hyuugas sure know luxury—they own this place after all, and that's like, four times the size of Rogers Arena,_ Mikan thought bitterly._ This school for hand-picked elite, genius, and prodigy; what am I doing in a place like this?_

She crossed the square quickly, paranoia welling up in her as her sandals slapped against the ground with what seemed like deafening pounding to her. _No one is supposed to be up before six, _a part of her mind tried to reassure; _I am not supposed to be up before six either, _the other part argued.

_I won't get caught, _she finally decided as she slinked into the shadows offered by large maple, glad to be out of the open. She sat down under the leaves, and took out a small notebook. Inside, she sketched a rough map of Alice Academy—or what she's seen of it.

"What time is it?" A silvery voice yawned from above her. Before Mikan could react, there was a small thud to her left. She let out a startled 'Eep!' and found herself looking up at a boy—no older than herself—with bright azure eyes and golden hair. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and regarded the pretty girl shrinking away from him curiously. "Is there a fire-breathing dragon behind me?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Mikan opened her mouth, and closed it again. Her mind was going a mile per second.

_Who is he? What is he doing here? No one was supposed to be up! Oh God, I hope he's not a Hyuuga. Those green eyes better be real, if they're contacts, and they turn out to be red eyes, then I'm royally screwed. Oh what am I babbling about? Calm down. Yes, nice and calm. Deep breaths, in—_

"Hello?" The boy waved his hands in front of her eyes. "Don't zone out on me, girl. I still need the time."

"Oh, umm," Mikan pulled a small ladybug necklace out of her top, and clicked it open. "T-ten to four," she answered.

"Oh, we still have a lot of time then," He smiled as he lowered himself to the spot next to Mikan. His arm was draped over his bent knee casually. "What's your name?"

"You-you're not a Hyuuga, are you?" She blurted out, and immediately flushed at her rudeness. She had heard _things _about the owner of the academy. If the rumors were true, it would be a severe understatement to say these people were cruel. They were more like, the Devil's incarnates. Although Mikan wasn't _sure_, exactly of _what_ these people did, but she had enough common sense to stay away.

The boy blinked, and laughed awkwardly to cover up his surprise.

"Nope, not a Hyuuga," The boy assured her. "I'm a Nogi, to be exact. Nogi Ruka." He gave her a sunny smile.

"Sakura Mikan," She said uncertainly, still analyzing whether Ruka was to be trusted.

"Pleased to meet you, Sakura Mikan."

o-o-o-o

Hotaru pushed herself up from her bed with a groan, ignoring the throbbing pain in her temple as she recalled snippets of last night.

"_Do what they want you to, and she'll be fine." The crimson-eyed boy had said in what he hoped was an assuring way. Hotaru grimaced._

"_Don't give them any reason to use her, Imai." He warned darkly. "Because they would, and everyone you love will be hurt. _Everyone_."_

Hotaru stifled a violent coughing fit, and stood up quickly. She wobbled to the washroom, fighting the wave of light-headedness threatening to overtake her. _I promised Mikan we would have breakfast together this morning, _Hotaru reminded herself. Filling a plastic cup with tap water, she popped a pill into her mouth and washed it down with water. She sat down against the wall and waited.

Heat began to spread in her body. It started in her stomach, and made its way up to her chest. She felt an indescribable pain grip her heart and she gasped, clutching her chest with one hand. Just as quickly as it had come, the agony evaporated, leaving tingling sensations in her body. Hotaru slumped against the wall and looked up at the florescent light on the ceiling. She drew in a quivering breath, and rose to her feet.

The worst was over.

o-o-o-o

_**A/N: So tell me, how was it? Suggestions? Criticism? Praise? Leave a review?**_


	2. Say, Anna, aren't we late for something?

_**A/N: I should probably make it a habit of putting in author's notes. Too bad I can't usually remember. Oh well. **_

_**Claim, disclaim, you know the drill.**_

_**Claim story, disclaim gakuen Alice.**_

Mikan stepped into the dining hall with a slight bounce to her steps and an unassuming smile on her face, all worries forgotten. She stood up on her tip-toes and scanned the hall for the face she recognized, for that tell-tale pair of amaranthine eyes. She made her way to the buffet table—who knows? Maybe they have crab today and she'll find Hotaru stuffing her face there. She almost giggled at the mental image of Hotaru shoving crabsticks down her throat and exclaiming at the same time: "This is fake crab, Mikan. Take a picture, I'm suing them!"

Suddenly Mikan found herself eye-to-chest with someone. She tilted her face upwards slightly, and her auburn eyes locked onto scarlet eyes. _They contrasted rather harshly with its owner's raven-black hair_, Mikan noted. Said owner glared at her.

"Watch where you're going, idiot." The boy said. His voice came out bored, with no trace of the anger Mikan was expecting.

Mikan bristled at that, but couldn't seem to find the right comeback, so she opted for glowering at the impolite jerk.

"Ah, Natsume?" Ruka intervened. "They're going to run out of blueberry jam if we don't hurry." Natsume grunted in response, and walked towards an empty table, but not before shooting Mikan a scowl. Ruka mouthed a 'Sorry,' before jogging after Natsume.

_Well that was odd. _A couple tables away from Mikan, she spotted her best friend. She was—as usual—holding a crab leg. There were two other girls at the table, one had bubblegum-pink curls and the other had straight, indigo hair. Mikan made her way over and slipped into the sear across from the pink-haired girl.

"Hiya, you must be Mikan," The girl greeted. "I'm Anna, and this is my twin, Nonoko!" She pointed at the blue-haired girl, who _Mhmm-_ed, and pulled another crab leg off the plate in between her and Hotaru, devouring it expertly.

"Oh no."

"What's wrong, Mikan?" Hotaru mumbled around a mouthful of seafood, so the sentence came out something like '_Mmatss wong, Migan?_' Anna frowned at the display of chewed-up food.

"I just got another eat-like-a-pig friend to have eating contests with my _don't_-you-tell-me-to-stop-eating best friend," Mikan sighed dramatically. "Oh, the woe!"

Anna patted her empathetically. "I know what you're going through, sister."

Suddenly, the table was showered with bits of food mixed with spit as Nonoko burst out laughing. Mikan scrunched up her nose. Anna just sighed. "I'll get a towel," And stood up. Before she could get anywhere, Hotaru swallowed her mouthful of food and stood up, yelling: "I WON! SUCK ON THAT, OGASAWARA!"

The dining hall fell silent; all eyes were on the girls.

Anna started laughing awkwardly. Mikan blinked, her mouth twitched slightly.

"Say, Anna, aren't we late for… something or other?" Mikan said loudly, mentally praying for Anna to play along.

"Umm, why, yes Mikan! We have to, go hunt down some… cupcakes now!" Anna announced just as loudly, and much more awkwardly. "Let's go, Nonoko!" She pulled Nonoko to her feet and promptly dragged her away.

"Come on, Hotaru!" Mikan followed Anna with Hotaru in tow.

As the girls left, the others in the dining hall just shrugged, and went back to their breakfasts.

o-o-o-o

As soon as they were out of the hall, the girls started laughing once again, save for Hotaru, who could barely contain a smile.

"You - didn't have to yell so loud, Hotaru." Mikan choked out, clutching her stomach. She was laughing so hard that her knees felt weak.

"It _was _my victory. I finished the food first." Hotaru stated nonchalantly, although there was a detectable twinkle in her eyes that told of her amusement.

"Natsume's entire table was staring at us!" Anna said incredulously.

Mikan and Hotaru sobered at that.

"Say what now?" Mikan finally asked.

"Why?" Hotaru demanded, all mirth gone from her voice.

Anna noted the changes in her new friends' expressions with alarm. "I – didn't say anything to offend you did I? And if I did, I'm sorry," She quickly amended.

"Anna, hon, just because Hyuuga is the official hottest boy in the academy, doesn't mean every girl wants him to stare at her." Nonoko said patronizingly. Anna glared at her.

"_That_ immature, impolite, name-calling jerk, _hottest_ boy in the Academy?" Mikan gagged at the thought.

"Finally, someone who's immune to his arrogant charms. You'll do his over-inflated ego some good, Mikan." Anna chirped as she started to skip down the hall. "Come on, you're new, right? We can show you around the school!"

"Count me out; I have some business to take care of." Hotaru announced and walked away in the opposite direction. Mikan's smile faltered, but she quickly got a hold of herself. _I'll get answers tonight,_ she promised herself, running to join the twins.

o-o-o-o

"Here's the middle school dorm, but I'm sure you knew that." Nonoko rolled her eyes.

"And that over there is the middle _school _itself—"

"—you know, where they teach and stuff."

Anna and Nonoko had launched into 'two twins, one mind' mode, completing each other's sentences without a single hitch. It was weirdly fascinating how they don't even feel like two people. It was more like _one _person who kept flickering. Or Mikan was just feeling a tad delusional, having skipped her daily dose of caffeine.

"That's Narumi-sensei," They had arrived inside the school building without Mikan knowing. She must have zoned out a bit along the way. Anna pointed at a man—or so she assumed—with wavy blonde hair. He smiled and waved before hurrying down the hall.

"And that's Misaki-sensei," Nonoko pointed the furious man running in the direction Narumi had gone, muttering.

"Damn that Narumi… stealing from the greenhouse… teach him a lesson…" He stomped off without noticing them.

"Narumi-sensei is going to be our teacher in September—"

"—I hope you're in our class Mikan!"

"Ooh, Nonoko! We have to take her to central town!"

"Oh my God, yes! You're going to love Howalons!"

o-o-o-o

_Principle's Office_, read the sign over the door. Hotaru took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," a voice called from inside.

Hotaru stepped into a posh-looking office. The black leather chair on the other side of a neatly organized desk swiveled around. Hotaru tensed.

"Hyuuga Jr.," She acknowledged tersely, though she let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding.

"Little Imai," Natsume shot back without missing a beat, and lowered his gaze onto the manga in his hands. "Need something?"

"How much more does my father owe Hyuuga Sr.?"

"Roughly sixteen million yen," Natsume kept his face expressionless, but the vice-like grip he had his manga in betrayed his emotions. "This should take you 'til you're twenty-one to pay in full, unless your father starts sending in money." He didn't like what his father—strike that, the man was not his father, not after what he did to his mother—did, not one bit. But there was nothing he could do about it, and being part of it is the only way he knows how to minimize damage on the victims, Hotaru Imai being one of many.

"Alright," He heard Imai say softly. After a moment's silence, he heard the door click. He relaxed, thinking Imai was gone, and peered over the top of his comic; right into Hotaru Imai's lavender eyes.

"Boo."

Natsume's scarlet eyes widened marginally, but he quickly composed himself.

"Leave already, Imai."

"Come on, Hyuuga. I just wanted to show you something." Hotaru said with a small smile as she pulled a picture out of her jacket. It was a picture of Natsume and Mikan. They were _very_ close, Mikan had her hands on his chest and she was looking up, her face red—from anger, but the customers don't know that; and Natsume was looking down at her, a slight smirk playing on his lips.

"Imai!"

_**A/N: hope you enjoyed that, eh? I tried making it a bit more light-hearted. Leave a review? **_


	3. What is the purpose of this, exactly?

_**A/N: Hey all! Naomi here, back with the next chapter! This is.. about, 1500 words or so? I don't understand how people write 10000 word chapters… Kudos to them!**_

_**Disclaim: Gakuen Alice.**_

o-o-o-o

Bright sunlight filtered in through the curtains. Mikan was curled up on her bed, her auburn hair fanned out on the pillow. She looked so peaceful, one would never guess she was about to be late for the first day of school. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she took a quick glance at the alarm clock by her bed before jumping up with an 'Aw, crap!' Needless to say, she was completely awake. She stumbled around the room, stepping into her uniform carelessly, throwing her hair in a hazardous bun, not even bothering with breakfast, and took off for the middle school building.

o-o-o-o

"Tobita Yuu,"

"Here."

"Sakura Mikan," Narumi called, glancing up from the attendance sheet. "Sakura Mikan?" He frowned.

Suddenly, the classroom door slammed open with a 'Bang!' A messy looking girl stood in the doorway, breathing heavily. Everyone turned to stare at her. Mikan flushed, not liking this kind of attention at all.

"Sakura?" Narumi looked at her expectantly.

"Here?" She answered skeptically, still fidgeted awkwardly at the back of the room.

Narumi beamed at her. "Right on time, Mikan. Well, we have already figured out the seating plans…" He seemed to ponder, all the while shifting his gaze between Mikan and the empty seat beside non other than _the_ Hyuuga Natsume.

Natsume glared at his teacher, as if to say _don't you dare._

Narumi ignored the gaze burning holes in his favorite t-shirt, and clapped his hands together, grinning widely. "Ah-ha! You can sit beside Natsume!" Natsume growled. Narumi seemed delighted with himself. "Go on!" He cried. "He won't bite!"

_Like hell he won't_, Mikan thought bitterly, moving gingerly to the seat beside Jerk and sat down with a huff.

She offered him a cheerful smile. "Hi, I'm Sakura Mikan, nice to meet you!" Jerk grunted in reply, his eyes never leaving his manga. She sighed, and turned her attention back to Narumi. She would try again later.

"—the person you're sitting beside will be your partner for this project!" As if on cue, Mikan dropped her head on her desk with a 'thud' as Natsume looked up. He was almost interested.

"What project?" Natsume interrupted.

Narumi pouted. "Weren't you listening?"

"No."

Narumi sighed. "For one, you are going to write a page about what you like and don't like about your partner." Natsume's eyes narrowed dangerously at that. Narumi continued. "And you will _get along with each other_ for a month," Mikan blanched. "By the end of the month, you will write another page about what you like and don't like about your partner."

"What is the purpose of this, exactly?" Hotaru asked doubtfully.

"To familiarize Class B so we can all get along with each other seamlessly!" Narumi gushed. "Feel free to submit extra pages of people other than your partner for extra marks! Now you have the rest of the class to work on this!" After finishing his little speech, Narumi promptly sat down at his desk and pulled out a miniature TV set.

Mikan twiddled her thumbs nervously, glancing over at Natsume every so often. In front of her was a piece of paper titled: _What I Like About Natsume_. It was completely blank. She suppressed a groan of frustration. She added another column titled: _What I Don't Like About Natsume._ That one was easy enough. She quickly filled it up.

_He's cold and withdrawn; he glares at people who accidentally run into him; he…_

"Natsume…"

"Talk to someone else."

Mikan huffed. "I can't. I kind of _have _to talk to you. I need to know things about you to write down what I like and don't like about you."

He ignored her.

She turned over to face the subject of her paper and propped her elbows up on her desk. "Let's start with something simple. What's your favorite color?"

Natsume arched an eyebrow. "Red," He replied easily.

"Really? My favorite color is orange! 'Cause, you know, my namesake is Mandarin Oranges, and it's, well, orange!" Natusme nodded half-heartedly.

"Natsume! Are you listening?"

Ruka glanced over at his best friend. If he didn't know better, he would have thought Sakura was torturing Natsume with her endless supply of questions, ranging from favorite colors to favorite foods, which eventually ended in Natsume teaching her math and calling her an idiot more than once, and, of course, Mikan's indignant retorts. He smiled. It wasn't everyday you find someone who could engage Natsume in a conversation for more than thirty seconds before he does one of the following: shut down and refuse to talk to you, attempts to kill you, or glare at you until you run away crying. This girl was breaking a record! It's been more than ten minutes, and all he's done is talk semi-civilly!

"Ru-ka." He sighed inwardly, remembering about his very own ice queen to deal with, Imai Hotaru. God help him.

o-o-o-o

"I don't know what you're so worried about, Kuonji. So we adopted the name of the famous Alice Academy, it's not like we have _that_ many Alices amongst our students. Everything Alice-related is done in secret, we'll slip right under the noses of the authorities," Hyuuga Sr. assured, spinning around in his chair to face the baby-ish face of his inferior. He had the same dark hair as Natsume, but longer, and pulled back into a loose ponytail; and his eyes were a darker shade of red than Natsume's.

"Well, let's hope you're right." Kuonji marched out of the room robotically, leaving the sentence to hang in the air.

Hyuuga Sr. ignored him, and continued poring over the files in front of him.

_Yes, they would pass right beneath the radar, right beneath the very nose of Azumi Yuka. Oh, imagine her face when she finds out the whereabouts of her precious_ _daughter—and she thought she had hidden her daughter so well!_ The man chuckled maniacally.

o-o-o-o

Mikan threw open the door to her room and flopped herself down on her Twin sized bed with a bounce. Her room wasn't as grand as Hotaru's, considering her less-than-average academic skills, but it was perfectly cozy. She stared up at the ceiling.

_What a day,_ she thought. _And here I thought they wanted me here for a reason, since they were desperate enough to offer her money—enough money to ensure the wellbeing of her grandpa for the rest of his life, _she smiled. _Well, I'm here now, it's the least I can do to pay him back for single-handedly raise me for all these years. Apparently there was no special reason for me being here? Or maybe they wanted me here for my adorable charms, _Mikan giggled to herself.

"You're acting like a lunatic," Mikan froze when she heard the voice. _Oh no, I left the door open didn't I? _"Close the door next time if you're going to laugh at nothing, people like me don't like to witness the losing of someone's sanity."

And there he was, Hyuuga Natsume, leaning against the doorway with his hands buried deep in his pockets in his trademark 'I Don't Care' pose.

"Na-Natsume! What are you doing here?" Mikan asked, pointedly ignoring his insults, and sat up on her bed.

"You left this on my desk," Natsume said flatly, holding up a rumpled piece of paper. _Wow, where did all the friendliness from before go? _Mikan leaned forward and snatched it out of his hands.

_What I Like About Natsume: He's mysterious; he's ruggedly handsome; he is charming; he is—_

Natsume raised his eyebrow as Mikan's expression went form one of curiosity to shock, to embarrassment, and finally to anger and frustration.

"I did _not _write this!" She yelled. "I clearly wrote _He's not as cold as he seems; He's actually kind of nice to talk to; He's—_" She clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening almost comically. "_You!_" She pointed a finger in Natsume's face, shaking with rage. "This is an evil scheme of yours!" She accused, without even letting Natsume argue for himself.

"What did I do?" The boy asked. The sentence which was supposed to convey innocence ended up connoting the I-seriously-can't-care-less vibe from his lack of emotions.

"—you just want to know what I think about you!" Mikan carried on, not paying any attention to Natsume.

"Why would I want to know what an ugly girl like you thinks of me?" That was the last straw. She pried the _annoying, arrogant, mean, big-headed, and frustrating—_ahem. She pried his fingers off the doorframe, and pushed him out into the hallway. She made sure he was a few feet away from her door. She then stomped back into her room and slammed the door as loudly as she could, right in his face.

o-o-o-o

_**A/N: Read and review? Tell me how I'm doing! **_


	4. An elevator?

_**A/N: Phew! Naomi here. This, is a whooping 7 pages! Longest chapter I've ever done! I think, it's about 3000 words? Maybe a bit more than that? I can't find the word counter on Microsoft Word! T.T If anyone knows where I can find that please tell me!**_

o-o-o-o

"An elevator?" Mikan chewed her piece of toast thoughtfully. "We don't even have a second floor in middle school,"

Hotaru smacked her on the back of her head, causing her to almost fall face-first into her strawberry yogurt. "Don't talk with your mouth full, idiot." Mikan rubbed her head while grumbling under her breath.

Anna smiled at the everyday-morning-routine between the best friends. They argued like a married couple! "It's not in school, silly. It's for the dorms!"

"Oh, goodie, I mean, walking halfway across the building is quicker than jumping out my window," Mikan muttered.

Her friends stared at her. Hotaru pointed her Baka Gun at her temple. "Who are you and what have you done with my cheerful idiot?"

"Mikan… is something wrong?" Nonoko asked. She has _never_, repeat, _never_ heard Mikan say anything sarcastic—even though she didn't quite get the auburn-haired girl's comment, she lives on the second floor! How is she supposed to just jump out of her window?

Mikan dropped her head on the table; Anna reached out and snatched her bowl of yogurt away, so as to avoid a yogurt-covered-sarcasm-spouting Mikan.

Mikan sighed dramatically. "I have Narumi for the _entire_ day today! And knowing him, he's going to leave us _free time_, and go embarrass Misaki in his own class." Only twice a week do the students at Alice Academy have the homeroom teacher of another class teach them, and these days were usually the 'fun' days, filled to the rim with art, music and physical education.

"What's wrong with that?"

"That means, I sit beside a certain devil's spawn—" Hotaru nodded meaningfully at that. "—I think I'm going to explode!" Mikan clutched her wavy caramel hair and shook her head madly.

Nonoko took one last look at the carnage she was leaving behind for Hotaru to deal with, and dragged Anna away from the mad woman for some plotting time.

"Say, Anna, did you notice how many times said 'devil's spawn' glanced at our dear, sweet, innocent Mikan today?" Nonoko waggled her eyebrows for effect.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Are you sure it's not because of Mikan banging her head on the table so hard she flipped someone's toast over on the other end of the table?"

Nonoko dug her heel into Anna's foot. Anna hissed, and glared at her sister. "Oh yes, sister dearest! I wonder why _Natsume_ looked at Mikan so many times! But it must not be because of the large scene she was causing, because _I_ barely noticed my glass of water vibrating when she dropped her head into the table—much like when my Godzilla of a sister sat down beside me!" Anna had such a fake smile plastered on her face by the end of her extremely sarcastic reply; Nonoko didn't even try to get the stupid look off her sister's face, but rolled her eyes instead.

"God, you're so immature."

"Why thank you, you _old hag._"

"Whatever, Anna; this is about Mikan and Natsume. And just so you know, I'm only two minutes older than you…" Nonoko brushed off her insult like a fly. She would get her revenge later.

Anna grew serious. "Do you think Natsume likes her?"

"Not sure, but he sure gives her the time of the day compared to other girls."

"We'll just have to wait and see."

o-o-o-o

_I'm ready for whatever crap you throw at me today, you devil, _Mikan glared daggers at the back of Natsume's head, and headed up the isle with her head held high, intending on giving her best friend a hug before sentencing herself to six hours of hell. Instead of coming into contact with flat ground, Mikan's sneaker-clad foot came into contact with something hard. She lost her balance and fell flat on her face. She looked up, and chuckled awkwardly as she found everyone staring at her once again. She turned in the direction of this 'foreign substance' that made her fall, and looked right into the mirthful eyes of Satan himself. She looked down, and found his foot under hers. He tripped her!

"Yawn…" The boy 'yawned' unconvincingly, and stretched his legs as if to say: 'Accident,' a smirk on his face all the while.

Mikan just gave a cheery smile and dusted herself off. _No way, Lucifer; No way in hell are you ruining my day._ She slipped into the seat beside Natsume and pulled out her notebook, doodling in it. She drew a boy who looked uncannily like Natsume, and a girl with the word 'SAKURA' across the front of her shirt. The girl sat in her desk, laughing evilly at the boy on the ground. He had fallen, just like she had. The boy's expression was comical, where his eyes were scrunched up, so they looked like an _X _sideways. Mikan admired her masterpiece smugly. She was going to frame this.

"You're missing a bit of detail right there," A voice said, she could almost feel him breathing down her neck; he was so close to her. Mikan jumped. Natsume continued talking, pointing at the skirt of the doodle-girl. "I happen to know, this 'SAKURA' wears polka-dotted panties." Now, it was his turn to be smug. He watched as the girl gaped at him with her chocolate eyes. "She showed this boy—" He moved his finger onto the boy on the ground. "—her panties the other day, when she pretended to fall."

"I did _not_!" Mikan burst out; and the entire class zeroed in their attention on her.

"We're just discussing this drawing, are we not?" Natsume asked innocently.

Mikan, realizing his victory, 'humph'-ed and turned her back on him. _Real mature, Sakura._ She sneered at herself. How did someone like Natsume reduce her to a stubborn ten-year-old?

_One-Nothing Natsume._

o-o-o-o

_What I don't like about Natsume:_

_He's annoying; he's frustrating; he's a pervert; he's rude; he's—_Mikan scribbled furiously on her paper. "Hotaru, I'm coming up in a bit," She mumbled into the communication earmuffs Hotaru had given her and made her way to the elevator. It's there, so why not use it? Besides, Hotaru's room is on the fourth floor, she reasoned with herself. But for some reason, she felt like it would be her worst decision yet.

'_Ding!' _The elevator door slid open. Mikan stepped in cautiously. It was empty. She didn't know what she was so scared about; it's just a forty-second elevator ride… She pressed _4_.

'_Ding!'_ The elevator door slid open again. _It's only third floor though,_ Mikan thought. And in stepped Hyuuga Natsume. _What? Why? No! Dear God, what do you have against poor old me? What did I do in my past life that is so horrible, you feel the need to set this… this monster on me?_ She shrank into a corner of the elevator, horror written all over her face. The cause of her panic just waltzed in as if the elevator was empty, and seeing the _4_ button was already lit, he leaned against the wall, sticking his hands deep in his pockets.

Mikan wished she would disappear. Or, if that's too much to ask for, she wished time passed by, _a lot_ quicker. No such luck. The lights in the elevator flickered, and it came to a sputtering halt. And the light went out all together.

Mikan let out an indignant scream; Natsume watched as his vision adjusted, and the Five Stages of Being Stuck In An Elevator With Hyuuga Natsume unfurled right before his eyes.

_Denial:_

"No! This can't be happening! Tell me I'm dreaming, you devil's spawn!" Natsume glared at her, but didn't do anything. This girl was definitely under some serious emotional stress. "Yes! I must be dreaming!" Mikan laughed almost deliriously. "I called _you _a devil's spawn, and you didn't do anything!" She then moved to pinch Natsume's cheek. "See? Aren't you the most adorable when you're nice and calm?" Natsume growled; Mikan flinched.

_Anger:_

"Why am I stuck in an elevator anyways? This only happens in movies! And books when the author doesn't have a single clue how to get the main characters together all lovey-dovey! And in stories! Unoriginal authors who don't have unique ideas! This is an outrage! This is a _cliché_!" The girl stomped her foot. Natsume snickered. Mikan glared at him. "Why are _you_ laughing?" She snarled. Natsume raised his hands in mock surrender. He didn't want a crazed girl loose on him in an _elevator_.

_Bargaining:_

"Dear God, _why must you do this to me_? Have I been a sinner? If you get me out of here, I swear—promise, I will never, ever, try to insta-glue Natsume to his chair again; I won't ever bribe the cook to drown Natsume's burgers in mustard again; and I won't ever make Ruka leak me information about Natsume—which I planned on photocopying and posting all over school and set his fan girls on him—ever again!" Natsume snarled, his eyes glinting dangerously as he watched the stupid girl confess all her 'sins' to God right in front of him; all of her 'sins' involved trying to kill him too! He dug her fingernails into the palm of his hand. _I will not hit her. I will not hit her. I will even try not to make her cry. _"—and I will throw away all my pink and purple paint which I had planned on decorating Natsume's room with!" Mikan looked pleased with herself, and turned to face the shaking boy. "What's wrong, Natsume?" The girl looked at him with such an angelic look on her face; he couldn't bring himself to stay mad. _You're lucky I didn't actually get glued on my seat, _he thought.

_Depression:_

"Natsume, we're going to die," Mikan suddenly threw herself at the startled boy, and proceeded to sob in his shirt. "I haven't even tried Howalons yet…" She wailed.

"Get off me idiot. We're not going to die." Natsume soothed; it came out gentler than he thought it would. "And when we get out of here, I'll buy you some Howalons. Just stop crying, you look ugly like that."

Mikan sat down beside him. There was a moment of silence.

_Acceptance:_

"Natsume?"

He grunted.

"Tell me a story." Mikan said softly, and rested her head on his shoulders. All of this felt surreal.

A couple of seconds passed.

"Please?"

o-o-o-o

"Where's Natsume? He said he would come to my room after dinner," Ruka mumbled to himself while chewing on a pencil. Maybe he should go down to Natsume's room and check on him. He pressed the elevator button; and waited. And waited. And waited. "What's taking it so long?" Ruka shrugged, and headed down the stairs.

o-o-o-o

"What do you want to hear about?" Natsume gave in to Mikan's insistent pleas.

"You," She said softly.

o-o-o-o

"Imai?" Ruka had almost run over Hotaru in his haste to get to the stairs.

"Nogi, have you seen Mikan?" Hotaru's breathing was irregular; it seems she's been running too.

"No, have you seen Natsume?"

"She was supposed to be at my room an hour ago! No, haven't seen him."

"And Natsume was supposed to be at mine an hour ago!"

"Why are you taking the stairs?" She asked suspiciously.

"Why are _you_?" Ruka narrowed his ocean-blue eyes at her.

"The elevator wouldn't come." Hotaru sighed.

"Same here," Hotaru's eyes widened, and a split second later, realization dawned on Ruka.

"You-you don't think…"

"I _do _think, Nogi." She snarled impatiently. "What are you waiting for? Call a teacher, preferably Misaki."

"Got it, Narumi will get all gushy and 'Oh, my students are growing up! I bet they're making out in there,' Jinno will be all 'You distracted me from my stare-at-my-beautiful-reflection session, die.' And Misaki is more—ah, neutral."

Hotaru cracked a small smile. "Just go."

"Yes, m'am."

"You better hope your friend is not up to anything funny in there, or someone loses some very important child-producing body parts."

"Ha-ha… that someone's not me, is it?"

"Hurry!" Hotaru snapped.

o-o-o-o

_Once upon a time, there lived a six-year old boy and his younger sister. He had a lovely mother who he cared for deeply. She would make time for him, no matter how busy she was; she would offer the boy her wisdom whenever needed, but never try to control his life. His sister was also a large part of his life; she was two years younger than him, and knows him like the back of her hand. His father, on the other hand, is cold and distant towards him; cares more about his business than his family; and brought no love to the little boy's life._

_The boy often wondered. Why does father hate me?_

_Some nights, when he simply could not sleep, and his father was on one of his numerous business trips, the boy would wander to his mother's door. He would reach out to turn the doorknob, and freeze when he hears sobbing coming from the other side of the door. He would step into the room, and sit down on the bed beside his mother, and simply offer her his presence. Eventually, his mother would usher him away, assure him she was okay, and tell him to get some sleep. But deep down, he knew she was not okay. _

_The boy would go back to his room, and dream of hurting the one who hurt his mother. _

_The young boy grew to detest his father. He and his sister was packed up and sent to a foreign school for 'business reasons' seven years later as their mother teetered on the verge between depression and insanity, far, far out of their reach. She loved him, but he hurt her, and now, he's taking all who she hold dear. He was pushing her into insanity._

_The boy made a vow to himself. _

_I will become strong, and I will protect the ones I love, no matter the cost._

o-o-o-o

Mikan reached for Natsume's hand after some time and grasped it, hoping to bring him some comfort. "Natsume… I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to tell me something so personal."

The boy shook his head, both to deny Mikan's statement and to clear the thoughts swirling around in his mind. "No, I wanted to tell you. I would have told you about Ruka's pet rabbit if I didn't want to." What is wrong with him? Why does it feel so _right _to be with this girl?

"Ruka has a pet rabbit?" Mikan asked. Even in the darkness, Natsume could tell she was smiling. And just like that, the tension evaporated.

o-o-o-o

"Fix it," Hotaru held her Baka gun at Misaki's head, and gestured at the elevator.

"_I don't know how!_"

Hotaru sighed. "You're so stupid." She then started to pull tools out of her pocket—or that's what it seems like. Ruka gaped. The girl had managed to produce large, unrecognizable items out of a non-existent pocket. The only thing he recognized out of the pile of tools was a screwdriver. She pulled on a pair of safety goggles and proceeded to work her magic.

"Why did you drag me away from my dinner if you planned on fixing it anyway?" Misaki sat cross-legged by the elevator door, looking dejected.

"I didn't anticipate how stupid you were," Hotaru answered without looking up from her work.

"I teach Biology! I don't _do _elevator repair!"

Ruka looked at Misaki sympathetically. "No one wins against Imai." That shut him up effectively.

o-o-o-o

"—which is why nachos are delicious!"

"Pig."

"Natsu—did the elevator just move?" The lights flickered back on. Mikan squinted against the light. The elevator jolted, and began to elevate, slowly, but surely. "Yes! We're going to live!"

"Shut up, Polka Dots. You're giving me a headache." Mikan just smiled fondly.

"That's not true!" She sang. "I'm giving you a migraine!" She sat with her arms tucked under her bent knees and started singing _Mary had a Little Lamb_ loudly. Natsume narrowed his eyes, and gave her a small push; she fell on her side, her arms still tucked under her with a shriek.

"Sakura print today?" He noted with a smirk. "Suits you."

Mikan flushed. How could she forget something this important? She was wearing a skirt, for Christ's sakes! "You pervert!" She jumped on him, knocking him to the ground. She sat up on his stomach, whipped out her phone, and took a picture of Natsume while she pulled mercilessly on his cheek. He glared at her, emitting a dark, deathly aura. Mikan swallowed. She flew off him and started banging on the elevator door.

"Someone save me! Natsume wants my life!" She yelled. Natsume pushed himself off the ground, and was sauntering towards Mikan. She turned to face him, hiding her phone behind her back. He put his hands on either side of her head, and glared down at her. Right on time, the elevator door slid open. The two tumbled out into the hallway, Natsume on top of Mikan. He tried to wrestle the phone away from the girl under him.

"What, are you two doing?" Ruka had an oh-my-God-what-did-I-just-witness? Look on his face.

"Hotaru, catch!" Mikan yelled, and tossed her phone to her best friend. "I took a picture of—mmmph!" She was cut off when Natsume slapped a hand over her mouth. Misaki took the chance this chaos offered, and slipped back to his room. His dinner must be cold now.

"Hyuuga, get off her, or this picture gets sent to… hmm, let's see. Everyone." Hotaru threatened. Natsume growled, but rolled off of Mikan. She breathed a sigh of relief, and scrambled up, dusting herself off. Ruka took a look at the picture, and burst out laughing. Natsume scowled at him. He covered his mouth, but he could not stop the snickers from escaping.

"This is gold you dug up, Mikan, _gold. _I'm proud of you." Hotaru praised, leading her friend away.

"Come on, Natsume, get a hold of yourself," Ruka smirked. "It's not _that _bad."

"You're not the one in the clutches of Imai." He grumbled. Ruka laughed.

o-o-o-o

_**A/N: Hope you enjoyed that! I just needed to get some of Natsume's past outta the way. And yes, I used the elevator cliché 'cause I have no other I idea! T_T also 'cause it's kind of canon, except in an elevator, not a haunted house.**_

_**Reviews are appreciated!**_


	5. Do you want to die?

_**A/N: Hey hey! Naomi's back! So, quite a bit of Ruka x Hotaru in this chapter, so do enjoy, RxH fans out there! You know, I read in someone's fanfic once, and they mentioned something about the Japanese being slightly pedophilic, because they managed to make ten-year-olds like Natsume and Ruka look so damned hot o.O**_

_**Also, also, my newest obsession is now CardCaptor Sakura! Do check it out if you haven't watched it yet!**_

o-o-o-o

"Okay, I got you away from Hyuuga, pay up." Hotaru demanded as soon as the girls were in her expensive-looking room. "200 Rabbits should do."

Mikan's jaw dropped open. "Hotaru! I don't have that kind of money!"

The girl shook her head in an as-much-as-this-pains-me-business-is-business way, her violet eyes blinked open, and one could almost see the dollar signs flashing in her eyes with a fitting '_cha-ching!_' "Or, you can hand over that picture of Hyuuga. I'm sure all of his fan girls would kill for it."

Mikan nodded eagerly. "It serves that pervert right." She pulled out her cell phone, and in a flash, Hotaru had the picture enlarged, and her printer was already spitting out poster-sized Natsumes. Business simply cannot wait.

o-o-o-o

There was a knock. Natsume ignored it, and continued reading. There was another knock, much more urgent this time.

"Come in," He called, putting his book down and pulled his feet off his desk.

A man sauntered into his room like he owned the place—strike that, he _does_ own the place—without bothering to take off his shoes when he reached the carpeted areas of the room. He came to a stop before his son.

"What brings you here, _father_?" Natsume spat out the last word so venomously, when the man did not even bat an eyelash, one wonders if he's heard at all.

"Why, for some _father-son_ bonding, of course." The man said with sarcasm, and sat down on Natsume's bed. "I have a new experiment for you," He dropped the happy family act, letting the disdain seep into his voice. He said the word _experiment _as if it was something Natsume would love, like someone would say _gift_, or _surprise_.

Natsume slipped on his emotionless mask. "Continue." It was all business now. Their hate for each other will have to be set aside for right now. _It's not as if he really _wants _me to be his heir, nor does he really _need_ me. Why is he so set on involving me in his—for the lack of a dirtier word—abominations?_

"Your job is to watch Imai Hotaru."

"For what?" Natsume questioned. He kept calm on the outside, but inside, he was in turmoil. _What? Why is Imai in an experiment? She was making steady dollars with her inventions, wasn't she?_

"For changes in behavior and health, what else?" His father snapped irritably. "Here is some information about this _experiment _Imai's part of. File in reports every Friday." He got up and left immediately after, obviously not a fan of idle chit-chat.

Natsume's hand travelled towards the unsealed envelope on his bed, and pulled out a thick stack of papers. The first page was titled:

_Nephrite Sultana_

_If I remembered correctly, Nephrite is also known as jade; and Sultana is a type of white grape…what? How is this part of an experiment? Usually these experiments involve poisons and medicines, not, _grapes, he thought.

Natsume licked his finger, and used it to flip the page. He scanned the page quickly, and flipped to the next. _Powdered Nephrite…Sultana Essence…chemical reaction…slow-acting poison?_ He sped through the pages feverishly. _Waves of hot, blinding pain…more like torture than poison…death…antidote…not to be mentioned in unofficial report? _Natsume cursed. _Tester: Imai Hotaru._

o-o-o-o

"Mikan, get out." Hotaru said, still engrossed in her income calculations.

"Hotaru?" Mikan said uncertainly.

"Get out. It's late, and you need sleep." She turned around to face Mikan, and forced herself to smile through the sudden haze of pain. Mikan gave her a confused smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but gathered up her things.

"You know you can tell me anything," Mikan said quietly before shutting the door behind her.

_I know I can, but I won't. _

There was a soft knock at the door. "I _told _you to get some sleep, idiot! Go away!" She mustered up all her energy and threw a pillow at the door.

"Ho-ta-ru," A sing-song voice called from the hallway. "Aren't you going to let me in?"

"No." She bit out as she lowered herself into a corner by her balcony, and hugged her knees tight.

"I'm coming in!" The voice announced, and not hearing any 'Get out! I'm changing!' Ruka deemed it okay to venture into Hotaru's room uninvited. _She better not have booby-trapped her room._ He scanned the room for the familiar petite figure. When his eyes finally landed on Hotaru, his breath hitched. She was sitting by her balcony, with the window-like doors partly open, and the cold night air ruffling the curtains as well as her raven-black hair. Her thin nightgown fluttered as she gazed out at the moon serenely, the soft lunar glow illuminating her face, creating stark contrast between her plum eyes and her pale skin. She looked like an angle. Ruka could have stood there all day, with his mouth agape, just staring at the beauty in front of him, had Hotaru not met his eye.

"I-um," The blonde boy stuttered, closed his eyes and shook his head, clearing his thoughts. When he opened his eyes again, Hotaru had her head buried in her knees, and was gasping. Her hands clenched around the fabric of her nightgown, turning her knuckles white. Ruka immediately rushed over, concern pushed any other emotion to the edges of his heart.

"Hotaru!" He kneeled down in front of his angel. He pried her fingers away from her snow-white nightgown, in fear of her hurting herself accidentally, and drew her in for an embrace. He ran his fingers through her hair comfortingly as Hotaru dug her fingernails into his shoulders. He kept whispering nonsensical comforts in her ear. When Hotaru finally relaxed, she made to move away from him. He only pulled her closer and murmured something incoherent.

Hotaru felt her face heat up when she finally realized the dynamics of her situation. Her head was resting on Ruka's shoulders, and she could feel his breath tickling the back of her neck. She pushed him away, more firmly this time. Ruka looked up at her, his usual sparkling ultramarine eyes were clouded; he looked lost. The corners of Hotaru's mouth quirked up the slightest bit, and she snapped her fingers in Ruka's face.

"Ruka! Snap out of it."

As if by magic, Ruka jerked, his blue eyes meeting Hotaru's; he seemed to remember his predicament. He scrambled away from the girl whom he had displayed _way _too much feelings for just a few seconds ago; his honey blonde fringes blocked his face as he studied the suddenly so _fascinating_ patterns of the carpet, blood rushing to his face.

"I-uh-I'm sorry!" He bowed his head even lower, not daring to meet Hotaru's gaze.

"Idiot." Ruka peeked up at her involuntarily; the onslaught of threats, death-glares and yelling he expected did not come. Hotaru smiled warmly at him. It was the first time he had ever seen Imai Hotaru smile, and he had to admit, she was beautiful when she did.

"When are you going to stop staring and tell me what you were here for in the beginning?" Hotaru asked humorlessly.

"Err, yeah. Wait, no! You haven't told me what's wrong yet!" Ruka was by Hotaru's side in a split second bombarding her with questions.

"Do you have a fever?" He felt her forehead, and stuck her in her bed.

"No, I—"

"Are you sick?"

"I—"

"Hurt?"

"Ru—"

"Do you need some water?"

"_Ruka!_"

He blinked. "Yes, Hotaru?"

"I'm fine."

"Like _hell _you are!" He burst out. "Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was? You were in _pain_, and there wasn't a single _goddamned _thing I could do!" He took a deep breath, and apologized. "Now tell me what's wrong." It was a command, not a request, much less a plea.

Hotaru exhaled. She had anticipated that response, but she couldn't very well tell him that she was taking a _poison _in exchange for money. He would—well, it wouldn't be pretty.

"Hotaru, please." Okay, he was pleading now. Hotaru rubbed her temples exasperatedly. It would do him more harm than good in knowing—and he will _never _know, as long as Imai Hotaru had a say in it—which is why she'll have to lie, lie and _lie_ until her pants caught on fire.

"Was it a stomach ache? Headache? Toothache? Something-or-other-ache?" Ruka persisted. Someone needed to teach this boy to shut up. Hotaru pressed a hand against the side of her head.

"Shut up."

"So it's a headache, isn't it?" Ruka grinned triumphantly. "Hold on, I'll grab you some Aspirin!"

Hotaru sighed in relief. So it wasn't _really _a headache, more like a my-body-feels-like-it's-melting-ache; but hell, if it gets him off her back and far away, it works. Her phone beeped, signaling a text message. She flipped it open.

_From: Hyuuga Natsume_

_What the hell Imai? Nephrite Sultana, ring any bells?_

Hotaru cursed under her breath.

_To: Hyuuga Natsume_

_It's fine. I'm fine. _

_From: Hyuuga Natsume_

_Like hell you are! It's a _slow-acting poison_! God dammit Imai! Do you want to die?_

_Same reaction as his best friend, _Hotaru noted dryly, and keyed out another reply.

_To: Hyuuga Natsume_

_Maybe._

Less than a second passed before her phone beeped again.

_From: Hyuuga Natsume_

_Imai! This is not a joke! Stop taking the goddamned poison, we can figure out some other way to get that money!_

"Hotaru, I'm back!" Hotaru typed out a hasty reply.

_To: Hyuuga Natsume_

_I have to go, Ruka's here with Aspirin._

Ruka set the glass of water on her bedside, and gave her a round, white pill. She swallowed it, and drank the water. Ruka smiled, satisfied. Hotaru's phone beeped.

"Stay in bed for a bit, okay?" Hotaru hummed in reply. Her phone beeped again. Ruka frowned. "I'll send Mikan to check on you later, so don't you get out of bed." Hotaru just looked at him, as if to say 'and what if I _do _get out of bed?'

"And, uh, I'm sorry." Ruka apologized again. Hotaru's phone beeped three times consecutively. Ruka frowned. "Urgent business?"

"Nope." _Shut up, Hyuuga. _She threw her phone to the other side of the room, where it continued beeping.

"I'll go see if there are any leftover snacks down at the kitchen," Ruka said and pecked Hotaru on the cheek quickly. "Oh, and, you might want to check that," He gestured to Hotaru's phone. "It sounds like a life-and-death matter." _Oh, you have no idea, _Hotaru thought dryly. Ruka left the room right after bringing her phone, looking a bit red in the face.

_From Hyuuga Natsume:_

_Why the hell is Ruka bringing you Aspirin? Did he see?_

_From Hyuuga Natsume:_

_Answer me, Imai!_

_From Hyuuga Natsume:_

_Imai!_

_Seven unread texts from Hyuuga Natsume._

Hotaru sighed. Someone's pretty persistent.

_To Hyuuga Natsume:_

_Shut up. I'm not changing my mind._

o-o-o-o

Ruka leaned against the wall just outside of Hotaru's door, breathing heavily. _I can't believe I did that. I kissed Hotaru on the cheek and lived to tell the tale! _He grinned from ear-to-ear, and practically bounced downstairs to Natsume's room. He knew Natsume always smuggled in snacks from God-knows-where—honestly, the guy's a pig. He realized that he didn't remember why he went to Hotaru's room in the first place, and didn't bother to, as he came to a stop in front of Natsume's room, humming happily. Just as he lifted his hand to knock, he heard half of a heated argument coming from the other side.

"_Imai, please. I'm actually begging you, what more can you get?" _He heard Natsume say, followed by footsteps pacing angrily.

"_I can't care less if Ruka's coming up with your midnight snack soon! This is important!" _Natsume snarled.

"_Do you actually want to die?" _There was a long moment of silence. Ruka held his breath. The pacing inside stopped.

"_This will kill you."_ Ruka couldn't take it anymore, and slammed open the door.

"Oh, hey Ruka." Natsume pressed the 'End' button casually, as if Ruka had not just interrupted, and probably heard more than what he needed to know of a top secret conversation.

"Explain." To say Ruka's expression was murderous was an understatement, although just_ who _the murderous-ness was meant for, even Ruka himself wasn't sure.

"Experiments, money, Imai, debt, poison." Natsume listed. "Which one should I elaborate?"

Ruka gripped Natsume's shoulders harshly. "Don't play games with me, Natsume. I _need _to know."

Natsume's eyes gleamed. "Ruka, you are my best friend, and I would hate to hurt you. Now let go."

Ruka seemed to deflate at his words; he apologized and offered Natsume a weak smile. "I...think I'll go get some air. And Natsume, if you can, _please _tell me about… Hotaru's case." Natsume had never seen his best friend's eyes so…dull.

Ruka slid open Natsume's window, walked along the ledge along the outside of the building, and stepped onto the branches of a Maple tree, deep in thought.

_To: Imai Hotaru_

_You better have a plan to get Ruka off the tree; he probably wouldn't even notice if his tree caught on fire right now._

o-o-o-o

_**A/N: So? Good? This chapter kinda wrote itself hahaha.. I didn't intend on that much.. oh whatever. None of this was planned, so you can't blame me if I get off-topic a little bit!**_

_**Leave a review please! They're my inspiration! Just drop in and say hi, hmm? Grand total of 2375 words. Wow. Not a lot. Oh well, 'cause that means you get speedy updates instead of lengthy chapters!**_


End file.
